Shawna Pandya

Dr. Shawna Pandya is a physician, scientist-astronaut candidate program graduate with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences/Project PoSSUM, aquanaut, speaker, martial artist, advanced diver, skydiver, pilot-in-training, VP Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies, Director of Medical Research at Orbital Assembly Construction, and Fellow of the Explorers’ Club. She is also Director of the International Institute of Astronautical Sciences (IIAS)/PoSSUM Space Medicine Group, Chief Instructor of the IIAS/PoSSUM Operational Space Medicine course, a clinical lecturer at the University of Alberta, podcast host with the World Extreme Medicine’s WEMCast series, Primary Investigator (PI) for the Shad Canada-Blue Origin student microgravity competition, member of the ASCEND 2021 Guiding Coalition, and Life Sciences Team Lead for the Association of Spaceflight Professionals. She serves as a medical advisor to several space, medical and technology companies. Dr. Pandya was part of the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity in 2015. She earned her aquanaut designation during the 2019 NEPTUNE (Nautical Experiments in Physiology, Technology and Underwater Exploration) mission. She previously served as Commander during a 2020 tour at the Mars Desert Research Station.  In 2021, Dr. Pandya was granted an Honorary Fellowship in Extreme and Wilderness Medicine by the World Extreme Medicine organization and named one of the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, as well as a Canadian Space Agency Space Ambassador. Her career and trajectory have been captured at the Ontario Science Center’s “Canadian Women in Space,” exhibit, alongside Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space (and Dr. Pandya’s idol growing up).

3 words to describe Nature?

Vast. Inspiring. Infinite

3 things Nature taught you?

To be in the moment

To be prepared

That everything else can wait

3 most treasured Nature spots?

The Canadian Rockies

Hapuna Beach, Kona, Hawaii

The sunset over the pond behind my parents' house

When you look at the OCEAN, it makes you feel...?

At peace, knowing that I am one tiny part of infinity.

When you see a FOREST, it makes you feel...?

Like I am at the start of an adventure.

When you see a VOLCANO, it makes you feel...?

Full of awe at nature's power.

When you see a SUNRISE or SUNSET, it makes you feel...?

Grateful and satisfied to be able to have that moment to appreciate.

When you hear THUNDER, it makes you feel...?

Excited for the subsequent storm.

When you hear the WIND HOWLING, it makes you feel...?

Like I am in a mystery or adventure novel!

Are you an OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, FOREST, or DESERT person?

All of the above

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

10

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

When I was 14, we went on a survival camp. My best friend and I were only 2 of a handful of girls in a class of over 35. We proudly built and slept in one of the best lean-tos, and managed to keep a fire going all night. We also went caving on that same trip!


Julie Angus

JULIE ANGUS is an accomplished adventurer, scientist and bestselling author of Rowboat in a Hurricane, Rowed Trip and Olive Odyssey. She is the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean from mainland to mainland and a recipient of the National Geographic Adventurer of the Year award.

She has also cycled across continents, rowed thousands of kilometers of coastlines and rivers, and organized a National Geographic expedition that sailed the ancient Phoenician trading routes to research the olive.

Explore Magazine listed her as one of North America’s leading adventurers and in 2016 Canadian Geographic named her one of Canada’s Greatest Women Explorers. She is a recipient of the McMaster University Arch Award and a Canadian Geographic Fellow. She is regularly seen on television shows such as Canada AM, CBC Sunday News and Daily Planet.

Julie is a scientist with an B.Sc. from McMaster University in Psychology and Biology and an M.Sc. in Molecular Biology from the University of Victoria. She also studied at the University of Leeds in England. She spent a decade developing therapeutics for genetic ailments and cardiovascular disease as a researcher and in business development. Currently she is the co-founder of the boat company Angus Rowboats and is an engaging and entertaining motivational speaker who inspires audiences and demonstrates techniques to reach goals and overcome challenges.

3 words to describe Nature?

Harmony. Joy. Peace

3 things Nature taught you?

How to be at peace with myself

To look at the bigger picture

To respect others

3 most treasured Nature spots?

Our off-the-grid boat access only cabin in the Gulf Islands

Old growth forests of Vancouver Island

The alpine environment of BC’s mountains.

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?

At peace

When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?

Awed by its greatness and complexity

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?

Enthralled and humbled by its force

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?

Appreciative to be able to experience such beauty and grateful for the day ahead or day passed

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?

Like curling up someplace dry and being a spectator

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?

Humbled by its power

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

Ocean

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

10

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

When I was kid, we lived in Edmonton Alberta. One evening, the sky exploded in waves of colour: green, purple and pink. At first I thought something was terribly wrong. It was still the Cold War, and in my school on a military base, nuclear war was on people's minds; my best friend even had a bomb shelter in her basement. It wasn’t long before someone wiser explained that it was the Northern Lights, aurora borealis. Terror turned to amazement and relief. It was a very emotional event, to behold a phenomena so beautiful, otherworldly, and incomprehensible to my young eyes.

Watch her video with LEXUS